Life as an Electrical Engineering Student - Ask an Engineer | Part 1
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- Опубликовано: 15 июл 2024
- Ah, life as an electrical engineering student...becoming an engineer can be intimidating - if you've looked into it at all, you've heard the horror stories about electrical engineering and math. We decided to take a crack at answering questions from potential electrical engineering students about what it is like to be an engineering student, if it's worth it to be an engineering student, and what exactly to expect. Everyone's experiences are different but Josh tries his best to answer the questions in a way that not only represents his views on these topics but the views of other electrical engineers that he has rubbed shoulder with, in and outside of CircuitBread. He is, of course, biased. To see the written transcript, check it out on the CircuitBread website - www.circuitbread.com/tutorial...
Table of Contents
0:00 Introduction
0:23 Why choose electrical engineering over other engineering majors?
2:09 Why does everyone say studying electrical engineering is so hard? Is it just the math?
3:47 Do you have to be naturally good at math?
5:11 What are some examples of courses you take in college?
6:37 What are some of the best electrical engineering schools in the world?
7:59 Is it important to go to prestigious school?
8:04 How feasible is it to work part time and go to go to school full time?
9:43 Does being an electrical engineer help you with the ladies?
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Hi all! While being an electrical engineering student can be a challenge, we're creating more content in the hopes of making your lives a little easier. If you want to see our constantly expanding array of tools and electrical engineering and electronics tutorials, go visit our website at www.circuitbread.com/
Hi, I have a question but if you dont want to answer it, it is understandable
what is your annual wage as an electrical engineer?
In google says that normally the annual wage is around 100-150 k, is it true???
And also it says that some people can even get more than 200K
@@weeboogamer2161 here in the Philippines you need to take 1 to 2 years experience to get hire. Plus the sahod of engineer here is less than the sahod of pulisssss. 🥴
He's not kidding. EEs are the smartest and best looking engineers by far.
Well I'm not that smart but I'm gonna do it
of course LOOKS :)
😏😎
Well I guess I am the outlier as an EE lol
"So the square root of 2 is 1.4."
Yes, he's a real engineer.
an indian would reply 1.414
@@simulationspa7987 Most students in India knows that
lmao rounding jokes ecsdee
As an EECS student from Sweden, the hardest part of EE is that there are so many different things that you need to be good at to even pass most courses.
I'm a MechE student at uni, doing a dissertation on solar cells, and my oh my, your videos are a lifeline right now. Thank you so much for all the hard work that you and your team do! It's greatly appreciated.
Awesome to hear, glad they’re helpful! Good luck on your dissertation!
Hey circuit bread, thank you for answering every single questions of our friends here. Subscribed.
Our pleasure, thank you!
This is such a relief to hear!!!!!! It has been difficult for me to truly grasp ideas like current and voltage. But i love the subject, so I am so excited to study electrical engineering next fall!
We always maintain that as long as you're passionate, that passion will drive you to spend the time and effort to be good at it, even if you're not the most natural at a particular topic. Good luck with your first semester this fall!
I’m a junior in photonics and electronics engineering taking 5-6 classes a semester and there is no way I can work. I’m blessed to have an awesome hubby to help me while I finish up!
Hi Samantha! Yeah, that's a heavy load and it's awesome to have such a supportive husband. Good luck with your final year and a half!
i envy you. I'm a man so no support for me!
Please tell me , electric engineering is hard or easy ?
Currently in the Navy (straight outta highschool) and after a 6 year navy career I have discovered that I want to go to college for electrical engineering. As a technician for a sonar system, I really enjoyed troubleshooting and learning how a lot of electronics work together to make many components perform one job.
Awesome!
Think about electronics engineering too.
Thank you for sharing your insights sir ! It really helps me since I am going into electrical engineering.
Awesome! And good luck!
@@CircuitBread how much calc 2 is used in other classes in electrical engineering? I'm taking heat, optics and electricity as well as calc 3 and I dnt remember anything from calc 2 since it's been a while since Im going back to school
Great insightful video . Thank You .
Moving on is always the answer 4:55 😆
😂That does seem to be the case...
Very Helpful!
Thank You, Sir!
Thanks for this video it really helps me give me an idea of how it kind of will be like to choose electrical engineer student
I've been in an electrical/instrumentation job since high school and trade school, and this video was very encouraging.
I've had opportunities to work around 2400, soon-to-be 4160, 13.2 kV, and 69 kV generation and distribution as a result of my job, and that's where my heart is, so that's what I plan to focus on. I liked that you mentioned distribution. Also, low voltage circuits piss me off, even though its what I went to trade school for 😂 LV EEs are definitely the brainiacs, and I'm not sure it's for me.
Thanks for the encouragement. It will be a long road, but even if im 50 when I reach the end, I think it's what I want. I want answers, and the ability to give answers.
At the moment I am in a state of inner self crises. The course that I wanted to take was Computer Eng/ Computer Science ENg, unfortunately I was stupid enough to inform my parents about this. They were not happy I was going for this path so they forced me to take EE. Every conversation we had resulted to debates and harsh arguments, it feels like my choice of freedom was taken from me, like I was being chocked to take something that I really don't wanted. Trust me, I love my parents that is why I reconsidered their opinion.
Thank you for this video, I am starting to see their point on a different view from an expert and who is more passionate in explaining this to me. The way they convinced me is informal, rude and harsh like a dictator. They don' have the patience to give valuable information to you kindly. They believe in hammering a nail without even measuring the size of the plank. Thank you very much.
If you are in college, you are an adult and can make decisions for yourself. I am sorry you have such controlling parents. But you can’t let people just force you into something you don’t want. If you are paying for it yourself and live on your own, this is especially true. I know it’s much easier said than done. But I wish you the best of luck!
How's it going?
@@joshm3563 I finished my first year so far, I think I'm doing great. It is just that.....calculus is a bitch. My parents got separated which really undermined the entire motivational stuff thingy but I'm doing everything for myself in the end. Got into a state university free tuition and all but still trying to process everything.
You can get into computer and chip design by having Electrical Engineering degree. Google FPGA and analog circuit design.
"Square root of 2 is 1.4 . . ."
Yep, he's an engineer
Very helpful!
I love your channel; it gives me insight.
PS: Do you use Adobe premiere pro for your videos?
Hi! Yes, we use the Adobe suite for all of videos, for these it's a combination of aftereffects and premiere.
Yeah its mad how many concepts that should be simple in electrical and electronic engineering don't end up being like that. Part of it is because of misconceptions/disinformation and part of it is experience in using them in many different areas but there is a lot of information that needs to be connected together to really get a proper understanding, across all areas within engineering.
I will say I'm no expert I just have a better understanding than a few years ago, and I know I have improved a hell of a lot. Still there is so much more to learn.
I'm with you 100% with your last comment. Everything I learn just seems to show me how much more I have to learn!
EE is really hard because you cannot see electrons flow through current. You cannot physically see where the problems are so troubleshooting is difficult. Where as CE and ME you can actually see and troubleshoot issues.
Im not an engineering major ima finance major but when you talk about going to school amd working..COVID really did a number..and those stimulus checks when no one wanted to work
Hello,
I’m currently 16 years old and a year 11 student. I just finished semester 1. I am looking forward into becoming a Electrical Engineer in the future. What subjects do I really need to focus on so it gets me ready for university. The subjects that we have a choice of is Maths, English, Physics, Biology, IT. What do I need to study and focus on the most and how can I prepare for the best of my ability so I don’t struggle in University. I’ve still got year 12 to finish of next year.
If your focus is EE, then maths and physics all the way. As I say all the time, being able to communicate is important, so English is not something to be ignored but still, get as far along in maths and physics as you can in high school. Even if you have to retake things in college (which, hopefully you can test out of some classes) you'll be way ahead because the material will be familiar and it'll just be a review. That way you can spend more of your time focused on the new things you're learning in college.
It was a way to solve practical puzzles like "why can't I plug a 12 inch speaker into the wall socket and hear what power sounds like?" That answer came sometime later... Note: the circuit breaker may trip after the loud noise is set permanently free.
Ha! That's awesome! Love hearing stories about what got people into electrical engineering. Just curious, how loud was that 12 inch speaker before it blew?
My older brother melted a multimeter lead when I was a kid and it wasn't until I was in college that I found out why you can stick a multimeter lead into the socket sometimes and not other times.
@@CircuitBread surprisingly loud pop but not spectacular. Just the coil vaporising before the breaker tripped.
@@chuckpatten7855 Hmmm... I was imagining/hoping for a brief but ear splitting 60Hz buzz for a few seconds before it self destructed. Like a 12" subwoofer that makes a car's trunk sound like it's about to fall off. But that's good to know, thanks for sharing!
@@CircuitBread It was in the late 60's removed from an old TV, more of a large mid-range speaker than sub-woofer. The magnet was about 1" dia.
You just need a 2KW speaker
Junior studying EE right now.
Electric power generation/distribution is a great industry to be involved in. I've interned with my local power company since May and have had a ton of fun modernizing existing circuits. Lots of hands on opportunities. But as you said it all depends on what interests you.
The math definitely sucks. Don't take breaks between the classes because it builds upon the prior classes. Also, the ECE courses are just math classes in disguise. Have a very good foundation in algebra, because 90% of calculus is just algebra.
I would highly recommend doing your first 2 years of college at a community college. The classes will be smaller and you will learn more, plus you will save a ton of money.
Back to working part-time. I work 20 hours a week while going to school. This is great opportunity if it is an EE internship, that way you are building experience. Thankfully my internship has flexible hours so I can drop my hours down the week prior to exams so that I can study.
It's great to hear your perspective on this - more than just Josh, none of the engineers here at CircuitBread have had any practical experience with power generation/distribution, so that's a definite gap in our knowledge. Thanks for sharing!
@@CircuitBread it seems to be a field that many students avoid for some reason. I have learned a ton about reading 1 line and 3 line schematics, wiring diagrams, flowcharts, how to redline schematics, the math behind relay settings, the use of various test equipment, and tons of hands on troubleshooting and repair work.
What I really love is that I get to deal with components and circuits from all the way back to the early 70s to the modern day.
@@garrettscott9427 My wife's family does elevators - her grandpa and great-grandpa started their elevator business back in the 60's. They still use the same basic relay technology now that they did then, meaning that they can swap out, today, blown relays on control boards that are 30-50 years old and have everything back up and running. It's fascinating to talk to my father-in-law (he co-owns the business now with his brother) and learn about the relay logic and, for me, high power circuits. But it's all been at a high level and that's the closest I've ever gotten to "power" engineering.
Holy fuck I'm going to Boise State as well! I was not expecting to hear that at all!
Haha! That's awesome! What year are you? I've been thinking about going back and finishing up my MSEE at BSU (scheduling conflicts caused me to stop at about the halfway point 4 years ago) so it's possible we could run into each other in the halls.
Do you ever think it’s too late to learn. I had to drop out due to life circumstances but everytime I watch something about EE, the interest. Is still there. I was in the second year of school at unc and I holding my own when my professor said to get a quick degree in software engineering. I’m not happy with it and I’m 58. I often thought about picking my books back up and practicing my equations and theory on my own. How can I prepare to return?
I don't think it's ever too late to do something you're interested in. My senior design professor was a PhD student and I think he was (I could get in trouble for guessing here) in his early 70's. If you want to get back into it, my recommendation would be to focus on the theory first (we're on the cusp of releasing some basic circuits tutorials but we also have the semiconductors and, honestly, electronics-tutorials.ws has a LOT of good tutorials) , and then finally jumping into the math. Going to school is like drinking from a firehose and I think that going in with a high level understanding of what you're going to learn about will make it so you can ask better questions in class. Then the homework you're given will give you plenty of practice with the math.
Would electrical engineering be a good start if you wanted to do repairs on electronics like smartphones, consoles, pc, complex stuff you wished people could fix
Honestly, not really. While we focus a lot on electronics in this channel, electrical engineering is a very broad field and there would be a LOT of course work that would not help in doing those types of repairs. I think getting a passable foundation in circuits and embedded systems will be the most useful portion of EE if you're looking into electronics repair.
Sir, I am a software engineer right now, but I love the world of electronics, where should I start.
I'm an electrical engineering student too!!🔌🔌⚡⚡
60sin(18000*0,026🤨
Great info sir. 👍
Dude I literally have the same problem in comms how can you have negative frequencies lmao.
I don't see a way to ask a question other than to ask it in the comments of one of your videos, so, here goes: I want an EV but I am scared that the battery will wear out because it is insanely expensive to replace the battery. So I look at warranties. Here is Hyundai's 10 year EV battery warranty. I think it says that Hyundai guarantees that the battery will retain 30% of its original capacity. What do you think? " Loss of Battery capacity or power over time or due to or resulting from Battery usage is
covered not to degrade more than 70% of the original battery capacity under this Battery Limited
Warranty."
Great vid! I'm an electrical apprentice looking at going back to school for EE once I get my ticket. Have you met any former tradesmen who later became engineers?
Yep, a college friend of mine. He had some funny electrician stories. Some things were a lot easier for him but most classes were just as much of a challenge for him as it was for the rest of us.
@@CircuitBread awesome thanks for the reply. I’m sure engineering will be really challenging still but I look forward to it. I’m also hoping having some real world experience will help me get my foot in the door for a job
Was going to ask the same question especially being an HVAC guy lol
You have to move in Asia to work as an engineer because here in Merica you won't find any job because nothing is made here anymore.
This country has become very static one.
It's extremely hard to find a job here.
You mentioned that you were prior Navy. I was wondering did you go to school while you were active duty? If so how did that process go? I'm currently active duty and am considering getting back into school while I have some downtime. If you have any tips on how to go about this process that would be very helpful!
Hey Ben, unfortunately, I didn't go to school while active duty - I graduated college and then went to OCS and then went back to school a bit more when I got out. My dad went to school while he was in the Marines, and got both his bachelors and masters while active duty, but that was over 40 years ago for the first and nearly 30 years ago for the second, so I doubt any of his experience still applies. There should be someone in your unit that specializes in that, though. In NMCB5, we had a chief that (looking at his LinkedIn page) was called the Career Development Team Lead. I recommend finding out who that equivalent is for you.
To the negative nine is like a😂🚀🚀moving on 😂🙌🏽
Hola, CircuitBread! Disculpe, quiero hacerle una pregunta: ¿Podría "electrical and electronics engineering (EEE)" ser tan bueno como "electrical engineering (EE)" con respecto al profundo entendimiento del área eléctrica? Porque en donde pienso estudiar no hay universidades que ofrezcan la carrera de ingeniería eléctrica. ¿Qué sabe usted sobre electrical & electronics engineering?
De hecho, la diploma que tengo dice "electrical and electronics engineering"- aunque siempre digo que soy un EE. No sé por qué no decimos EEE (como ingenieros) pero a lo mejor es que somos perezosos.
I failed 5 subjects in my 10th standard but i still complete electrical engineering 🤓😎
Nice! Kudos to you for sticking it out!
so does electricity engineering like a company u go to work everyday cuz I don't want stay to my house I want work everyday but not in the weekend ?
do I need High Grades To enroll electrical engineering?
Thank You For answering My Question
Not necessarily, but good grades in the pertinent subjects (maths and sciences) will make it a lot easier to get in and then easier to do the coursework once you are in.
hi, i am a second year electrical engineering student & want to study control. I've been really confused about my days as a electrical engineering student. I feel like I am not legible for this(not grade wise) lack a lot and not know where to start, confused on what subject and skills should i focus more, and what should i be expecting from myself in 3 more years?
please help me out from this dilemma.
While not all EE's go through this sort of crisis, I know I certainly did. I may have mentioned it somewhere already but, my sophomore year when I was taking Electromagnetic Theory and just getting destroyed, I was talking to my mother-in-law and mentioned that if I failed e-mag, I was going to drop out and take my father-in-law's offer to go work for him as an elevator mechanic. Obviously, that didn't happen (though maybe I should've - those guys make a ton of money!) and I managed to make it through without failing any classes. That was also a turning point where we switched from what I considered more boring theoretical classes to the more interesting and applicable classes which motivated me. Of course, now I find the theoretical stuff fascinating, so tastes change.
My recommendation is to see what inspires you. If you're still interested in controls, what are you doing to learn more about that? (We actually just started posting some written tutorials on Controls on our website - we haven't shot the video tutorials yet but your feedback would be appreciated!) If none of this appeals to you anymore, maybe EE isn't your thing - there's no shame in not enjoying being an EE. I know a guy who worked as an EE for about six years before deciding he didn't like it and went to medical school. But if you are still interested, take your time, be patient with yourself, and just make sure that you're giving yourself enough time on each topic for it to sink in and actually make sense before moving on. I know that's a huge challenge for me but it makes a night and day difference on what I get out of my studies.
@@CircuitBread I am interested in EE but I am not satisfied by how things are going(maybe cuz I set my expectation very high for myself).
And I kinda feel like it is a very slow process and the things that are taught every semester aren't enough to lesser my hunger.( A feeling that can't be explained with word!!)
@@CircuitBread If I choose Robotics as a career in future, in which field of EE should I set my goals?
Thanks for reply and listening to my concerns^^
I think you may be struggling with the fact that as an ungrad, you learn about everything but only a little bit. Which means that you're struggling to maintain motivation in the face of classes that, frankly, likely bore you. Unfortunately, I'm going to side with the teachers on this one that, even if you specialize in one thing, there's enough overlap that at least having the fundamentals of everything is very important. Even though I still don't like electromagnetic theory, the knowledge I gained in that class created a foundation that crosses over into other disciplines. Case in point, I did a PCB design when I was still an undergrad and it didn't work. It wasn't until I started calculating things that I found that I had made assumptions on the trace length/width to the antenna that I shouldn't have, so the antenna flat out didn't work due to horrific unintended resonances. And here I thought I was just doing PCB design.
Once you have those foundations, if you want to do robotics, there are still even a few subfields for that. But control systems, power electronics, and embedded systems are key fields that would help you in robotics, particularly control systems. You should also be familiar with Matlab or Scilab and know how to program in C or Python or something similar.
Hey, I want to start an electrical engineering next year, and I don't want to waste my time on subjects that aren't really necessary. So which subjects are best to choose if I want to become a principal electrical engineer?
As an undergraduate, your college will require you to take non-engineering courses. Communications, history, stuff like that. Sometimes you can find something that has a bit of cross over (I took a philosophy course called "Intro to Logic" which was really easy because I'd already taken digital logic bu then) but a lot of things won't be *directly* applied to your core responsibilities as an engineer. However, being able to communicate (written and oral) is extremely important, and the classes I took of Japanese and Spanish have helped in my career as well in different areas when I was stationed in Japan (and strangely, I met somebody in Ukraine that spoke Spanish and Russian - I'm fluent in Spanish but my Russian sucks, so I was actually able to communicate with him). So, while you will be required to take classes that don't seem like they're going to be helpful, you can choose something that will help you indirectly. And in regards to actual engineering courses, take what interests you. It won't be a waste of time to explore your interests and get better at what you want to do.
@@CircuitBread Thank you so much!
Hi! I am going to be a EE student next year. Can you make a video and offer some suggestions for me?
Hi Reason! Check out our playlist that answers a wide variety of questions - similar to this video: ruclips.net/p/PLfYdTiQCV_p45pqQC6KytNYmBexo7amQz
I really want to study EE. But I have always been bad at math, I dont know if it was the teachers or just my own lack of interest but I would skip classes and fail tests and didnt care. Now however, I realize its value and would like to understand it but I carry this fear and complex that I am inheirantly bad at math which has stopped me from applying for EE. Is somebody who might be in the lower 20% of math ability wasting their time applying for EE. Keep in mind I did study advanced business and passed Statistics and probability and also fractions and decemals and financial math they held in that course. But it was hard because the lecturer moved too fast so I had to teach myself at home. Could I pass EE or should I just apply for an easier course.
That's a good question - having a motivation can be the difference between success and failure with math but you may need to start further back to build up a good foundation before jumping into calculus. Most EE classes don't have incredibly difficult math but there are a few, so it is important to not only pass the math classes but to build a good base of knowledge, particularly calculus and differential equations. So you don't waste a lot of time and money, I'd try a couple online algebra lessons and see how you feel about it, knowing that your end goal is to become an EE.
Last question was most important 😸
😂
Hey your mate who has taken all the math classes multiple times sounds like me
2:56 It took me a couple of decades 😂
😂
I am starting my second semester studying Electrical Engineering Monday! Most of the things you said of how you chose your major I related to. I do have one question, next year will be my sophomore year in my local community college, and I will be taking two sciences (Physics and Chem) at the same time with two other EE classes. Any tips to help me survive?
Hey, sorry for the delayed response! RUclips has been really sucking at comment notifications recently, we don't know what's up... as for a survival tip - focus. Do whatever tricks you have to in order to actually sit down, and study or do homework. Pomodoros, timed push-ups (work for 20 minutes, do 20 pushups, work, pushups, repeat - surprisingly effective for a couple of us in the office but not others), anything that works for *you*. If you force yourself to sit and FINISH what you need to before moving on, then you'll accomplish so much more in a set period of time and will have at least a little time to yourself in the evenings and weekends to take needed breaks without feeling guilty. Since this reply is so late - let me know how it has been going for you, I hope you've been surviving thus far!
CircuitBread thank you for the response and no worries! And so far so good! All A’s so far and I’ve started taking a C++ along with engineering classes and math. I’ll definitely try out pomodoros! Thank you and have a wonderful day!
How’d EE go😭
@@change5450 I’m in my third year in university right now. It’s been a trip! You will make and loose a lot of friends but if you stay determined and focused you will do it. And never let people tell you that you can’t do it because everyone can
@@NativeBox thx a lot🙏🏾
I am just in a bad state of mind. I am a sophomore computer engineer. I had a 4.0 gpa in my first year before all of the Covid stuff happened. Last semester I had some difficulty keeping the discipline and motivation like when we were in school and my learning experience wasn't great. I wrapped that semester up with 3.7 gpa. But I feel like I didn't learn things in as much detail as needed. And now I am really worried if I those classes are going to bite my ass untill rest of my college experience? Thank you in advance
Hey, I understand your concern, I felt that way several times in college as well. Unfortunately, the answer is "maybe". Some classes build an essential foundation for future classes and not getting that foundation may cause serious problems. The good news is that most of the time, the other classes both reinforce the most important aspects of the things you learned and also don't require the detail you needed to learn in that foundational class. For example, microelectronics uses your circuits classes but you don't run into the absolutely crazy problems that you would face in a circuits class, they're much more straightforward. At the same time, it demands that you understand the fundamentals better and more intuitively, which in acts as a refresher and reinforcer of the topics that truly are important. In my experience, the only class that really bit me in the butt and I regret to this day is differential equations. I needed to know that better and despite getting an "A" in the class, I feel like I didn't learn anything and it was a struggle for the remainder of my undergrad.
What electives do I pick in high school for electrical engineering?
Sciences and maths! Chemistry and physics, in particular, and as high in math as you can get. But don't ignore English, as you'll still need to write, and even extracurriculars like sports of academic quiz bowls, as those will help with skills at building relationships and teams.
I want to becaome electrical engineer Im not really good at math do you think I can do this?
It mostly include measurement. 3.807kv /3455ohm=Current, simple
It depends on what you want to do with your career, some engineering jobs require a lot of calculations, many don't. Either way, college will be tough. But maybe you're not actually bad at math but have just had bad experiences. That was what happened to me - I thought I was terrible at math in high school and then I got another teacher and, while I wouldn't say I'm great at math, I found that I was at least competent and I found it significantly more interesting when it was explained to me differently. If it weren't for that second math teacher, there's no way I'd be an engineer now, which is kind of a crazy thought.
8:05 Well fuck, I'm going full time work with full time school in three days.
Oh, that's rough! Good luck!
Lol, i am really good at math but physics was really hard at first for me
It's cool how we all have our different strengths. Even here at CircuitBread, among the five engineers who work here, we all have our our specific areas of expertise, strengths, and weaknesses, but recognizing them and working together, we're able to do awesome things. I think it's cool, anyway...
I'm from boise!!! Might be going to college at bsu
Nice! Personally, I liked BSU. It had a greater emphasis on semiconductors than I'd find ideal but the teachers are generally good (some are absolutely amazing, some not so much - nothing unsurprising) and there's a ton of money from private sponsors (Micron, mostly) and high quality equipment. And it's relatively inexpensive with in-state tuition. I'd definitely do it again.
What are the strong foundation needed to become electrical engineer
Math and physics! But don't forget the soft skills required for professional human interaction.
Hi, I’m 16 and really want to become an electrical engineer, but I’m confused on where to start and what programs I should start on, so I can be prepared for college. Any suggestions and info will be so helpful! Thank you!!
Hey Ethan! For some reason this made me think of that song from Sound of Music - "Let's start at the very beginning, A very good place to start" In this particular case, the very beginning would be starting with math, physics, and circuits. Just make sure that your math and physics foundations are strong, and then, if you can, jump into some circuits. Electrical engineering isn't entirely circuits but circuits seems to touch nearly every aspect of EE. If you're interested in embedded systems, you can go through our PIC10F200 series, or you can buy an arduino and start messing around. Something that I always say but need to be better at doing myself is, is that you learn the most by doing. *Do* something, anything, and even if you cause something to explode, you'll have learned a lot more than if you hadn't done anything.
@@CircuitBread thank you so much!! you’re the only RUclipsr that actually replied back to me, so thank you again! I’ll definitely start making my foundations in math and physics stronger now since I know. Is it any specific math? Like calculus or trig?
Glad to help! Calculus is super important, but before jumping into that, I'd make sure your algebra foundation is rock-solid. Everyone I've talked with about it agrees - the hardest part of calculus is algebra. My life is kinda upside down at the moment, but I've been very seriously considering getting an algebra workbook and working through it day-by-day and posting it to our Twitter account to help people like me strengthen their math foundation. Then, after finishing algebra, possibly work on differential equations, as that's quite important as well, particularly LaPlace transforms.
@@CircuitBread alright sounds good. I just went to my bookstore and bought an AP Physics 1 textbook to get started on my foundation in physics. I’ll be sure to go back and pick up an algebra 1 & 2 textbook next time to work on that as well. Thank you again for always replying to me and just overall helping me. I would literally pay you or your team to be my mentors. Keep up the awesome content ! 👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks! And in terms of payment, we're trying to keep this free for everyone (well, *directly* free, we know that advertising has its own costs) but we appreciate the sentiment. Also, we're trying to build up our new Discord channel, so if you have any questions or want to discuss things with people, you can check it out: discord.gg/vdqARHb There's less than 200 people signed up now but hopefully it'll grow soon to have enough people to get quick responses and good discussions.
I'm currently in the navy and looking into Electrical engineering, for the same reasons that excited you. I plan and going reserves so that I can use tuition assistance to help with school, but I'm also a family man with 2 young children. Do you think this plan is feasible and/or do you have any advice for me?
I debated going into the reserves but everyone I talked to that was in the reserves (or National Guard) said that the time commitment is much greater than any recruiter would say. Plus, while your job is legally required to keep your job available while you're deployed, that doesn't mean it always happens and your only recourse is to sue if they fire you because of deployments, which nobody wants. And if you're self-employed, you're just screwed when you deploy. Of course, that's completely ignoring the family life side - coming back from my first deployment and having one of my kids not have a clue who I was really sucked. Those are the reasons why *I* didn't join the reserves after leaving active duty. I know people who absolutely love it and those issues don't bother them. So, that's a matter of personal preference.
My biggest question is - why not use the GI Bill? Have you been in long enough that you can transfer it to other people and want to use tuition assistance instead? I didn't have the option to share it with my kids, so I used it to get my graduate degree and I still have 14 months left on it. You don't get as much income as you would in the reserves but you'd also have a lot less commitments.
@@CircuitBread Yes I have it, I've been in a hot minute. The reason I was going to use TI instead was in case my wife decided to go back to school I could transfer it to her. My plan was to go reserves, take a less labor intensive job, and take classes.
Ah, that clarifies things. I'd say if you've been in awhile you know the feeling of being pulled in multiple directions already. I know that going to school part time is much more difficult because the "four year" degree can drag on forever, but if you're able to count some of your experience in the military toward your degree, that should hopefully cut it down a bit.
I'm not going to lie, it would be tough - if you're setup well enough that you can go to school full time and the reserves will pay enough to keep you afloat, then I think you'll be okay. But if you're trying to keep a part/full time job, reserves, family, and part/full time school, you're going to burn out very quickly. Maybe if you found a job that allows you to study on the job? Like a night guard somewhere? That would be helpful. These are just my random thoughts but if I were to give advice, it would be this - you need your wife's buy-in on whatever you do. She needs to be behind whatever plan you have 100% or it will be even rougher.
iwant go and study electrical engineering at colleage and i really like is electrical engineering a good career?
It's a fantastic career for some people. Which, if you really like the subject, probably means you'll be one of those people. Just make sure you know what you want to do and don't lose sight of it. EE's have wildly different jobs and quality of life, make sure you know what you want and go after that and not settle on an EE job that doesn't interest you.
Iam 15 now and im think about becoming electrical engineer
Same lol
@@Metrofn44 noice
@@hdhwkq thanks and cool for you too
@@Metrofn44 :)
I wanna shift from being a Business Administration student to Electrical Engineering. How should I adapt?
Hi Johnadelle - everyone is different. It's entirely possible that EE, being more interesting to you, will just come naturally and be a lot easier. I think that's not the case for most people. In general, I think you should just get ready for things being harder . I got my MBA a couple years ago and people sometimes comment "wow, you worked full time while getting your MBA full time?" and the reality is, those MBA courses were *easy*. Took a bit of time, but they didn't hurt my brain like my undergrad/grad EE classes did. So, I'd just set aside more time for understanding the concepts, because you'll need it, and make sure your math skills are up to it. And that's about it.
I was studying for Electrical Engineering but swapped to Business Administration. What made you want to switch?
my diploma is programming and im on may way to do a degree in EE !!
Nice!
which programming language do I need to learn in embedded system ?
That really depends - C is probably the most widespread and foundational. It's good to understand a bit of assembly as it helps you understand the underlying functionality of a microcontroller but it's not used too often in real life. C++ is also very common in more practical applications. I've heard of Python and Java being used for embedded but I've never done it myself. If I were to make a single recommendation, though, I'd stick with learning C.
What are the challenges?
The challenges of being an EE student? Lots of math, difficult concepts, too much info to absorb, not enough time. That's probably the most succinct summary of the challenges.
I am 21 one years old and I am not good with math can I still do this?
"Not good with math" is unfortunately vague. If you consistently struggle and it never clicks - ever - then honestly, probably not. If you're like me and you're okay at math and can even enjoy it occasionally but don't *love* it and don't feel like a natural, well, then you can definitely do it. There's a whole scale of math ability and you don't need to be a top tier math fanatic to be an engineer but at some point, if you slide too far down the skill, it just won't work out.
Fwait what from EE to navy wow
Yep, to be a CEC officer in the Navy, you need an engineering or architectural degree - most CEC officers are civil engineers, but there were (and are, I'm assuming) a few of us EE's as well.
Hi, my name is Mathavan and I am interested to study Electrical engineering and i am in high school. Do I need to learn programming for this?
Each university will have slightly different requirements but as far as I'm aware, the emphasis on programming in electrical engineering has been increasing over the years, not decreasing. That's a long winded way of saying, "yes, you will almost certainly need to learn at least basic programming." Good luck!
I liked it! I would like to ask a question how do I?
Hey Shemsy, we have multiple ways that you can ask us a question and get an answer from one of our engineers. You can ask through the RUclips comment system or through the Contact Us form on CircuitBread.com. We’ll get you an answer directly and then we’ll either add this question and answer as an addition to the article, write an EE FAQ on our site about it or include the answer in a future video if it fits.
Also, we’ve really appreciated your feedback as a regular viewer of our content and were wondering if you’d be interested in jumping on a call sometime to provide additional thoughts. No worries if this doesn’t interest you. :-)
Each tutorial/article on our site also has a comment section at the bottom. :-)
@@CircuitBread hmm okay maybe sometime next weekend?
Works for us, thanks! Can you reach out on our Contact Us form and we'll set up a meeting invite? www.circuitbread.com/our-team
Greetings sir. Please help me. 😥
I got into electrical engineering (power) because my parents were telling me power has a better future etc etc.
I like both power and electronics and my stream has a lot of electronics in it too.
In my university (one if the most renowned uni in my country) the electrical engineering power had a much higher merit ( harder to get into ) than electronics so I thought maybe its because it has a better scope or sth
I am interested in anything that involves electricity. People keep telling me electrical engineering power is a dead end .I am honestly so confused
Can you please tell me if power was a good choice ?
Does it have a good scope in USA since that's where I want to do my masters from and settle.
And if no. Shoudl I shift my field?
It would be so wonderful if you could reply.
Thank you so much sir.!
It's always hard to predict the future (anyone that says otherwise is probably untrustworthy) BUT I don't see worldwide power demands decreasing any time soon. And even if they do decrease, I think power engineers will still be incredibly necessary in not only maintaining the current infrastructure but making it more resilient and efficient. Are you going to make as much as a software engineer in silicon valley? No, but I'd put my money on there always being a need for power engineers. But I'd just let my opinion be one of many that help you in making the decision that is best for you.
@@CircuitBread thank you. Is it better to do bachelors in power and then masters in electronics? Do you think that's a better option?
Sorry for the delayed response... This is just my opinion, so I wouldn't give it any more weight than anybody else you talk to, but I'd probably use the masters to go more in depth in whatever you actually want to do. So if you decide you like power while doing your bachelors - focus on that in your masters. But if you decide you want to do electronics - focus on that. You come out of a bachelors with a very broad, foundational understanding of many EE topics and the masters is where you start to get focused more on a single area.
Unless U get a GOVT gig U F'ed
Hi I as completed intermediate with CEC course so I can Apply for polytechnic in electric engineering group
Very cool!
your wife said what ? Lol
😂
Hi I don't like physics, is it ok to take admission in Electrical engineering??
As long as you can do well enough in physics to learn the foundation you need for your EE classes, it should be fine. Not everyone is going to like every class, but you do still need to understand and learn from it. I only had to take two semesters of physics in college, so it wasn't bad. Of course, I enjoyed physics so, take my opinion with a grain of salt.
What was your rate in the Navy?
I was actually a CEC officer, so my "shore" duty was working facilities with a bunch of civilians but when I was in battalion (a Seabee's "sea" duty), since I was the only EE in the battalion, they made me the comms officer, so I worked with the ET's and IT's a lot. They were an awesome group, but my chief was the rock they were built around. I miss those crazies...
CircuitBread That’s actually interesting that you worked with ET’s because I am a FC which as you know is the same program as ET’s. I’m looking into taking all of my prerequisite courses while I’m in the Navy so I can transfer into NC States School of Engineering. As a FC I believe I have accumulated nearly forty-ish credits towards EE including AC/DC circuits, Digital Circuits and microprocessors, Analog Circuits, Solid State electronics, Radar systems, and many more. I just really hope they at the very least accept half of the credits I’ve earned.
I can imagine it's a challenge to figure out how to accept credits. My ET's were smarter than me and had much more practical experience than me, it was for the best that they were the ones doing the actual work and I was just filing reports. I don't know if the school will feel like there are theoretical holes in your background, though. But it would really suck to have to take entire classes when 90% of it is just review. It always feels like this part of the process is very subjective and it depends on who is doing the review at the school. Good luck, I hope whoever reviews for you knows the military well enough to understand what you have actually been doing every day for your rate!
ILL BE GOING TO CLG IN 2022 I HAD A LOT OF INTREST IN EE WHILE I WAS IN CLASS 7-10 I USED TO BUILD A LOT OF HOBBY PROJECTS LIKE BLUETOOTHT SPEAKER ETC THEN IN 11-12 I COULDENT FOCOUS ON THEM DUE TO STUDIES NOW IN CLG MY FAMILY WANTS ME TO TAKE CS AS THERE IS MORE HIGHLY PAID JOBS IN IT AND THEY SAY EE IS VERY DIFFERENT AND TOUGH COMPAED TO HOBBY ELECTRONICS +THEY SAY THERES A LOT OF POSSIBILITY THAT EE JOBS MAYBE REPLACED BY AI.... IF YOU CAN PLEASE GUIDE ME TO CHOOSE A MAJOR SO I DONT REGRET LATER ...AND HOW MUCH ROLE SHOULD MONEY HAVE IN DECIDIG FUTURE? PLESE REPLY IF POSSIBLE... LOVE FROM INDIA
It's true that CS is much higher paid at the moment and it's also true that EE is both different and much more difficult than hobby electronics. I would disagree that AI will replace EEs, though. But, once you hit a certain threshold of money, it's not about the money any more. As long as you have sufficient to comfortably take care of yourself and your family, do you need any more? It's not bad to make more money, but not at the expense of your happiness. Me, personally, I could not be a CS. I simply would not like it. So, even in retrospect and even seeing how much CS's can make, I don't regret becoming an EE. Unfortunately, nobody can tell you what will make you happiest, but those are my insights. I hope they help you in making your own decision.
@@CircuitBread THANK YOU FOR REPLYING 😇☺☺
@@CircuitBread sir one of my results came out and i may be getting power engineering in a good college ..... its a course with 75% ee 25% me ...... should i go for it because i am not sure about what to choose and also can i switch subject when i go for masters in any us univeersities
Do you need to learn computer science?
Most universities require one or more computer science courses and, if you're doing embedded systems related work, it is definitely needed. However, even if you're not programming microcontrollers, the principles of programming can be extremely helpful when using certain pieces of software, such as MatLab or Labview, so I agree that most EE's need at least a minimum amount of programming experience, though some need much more than others.
Are electrical engineers, nuclear engineers that's couldn't cut it?
Well, I use that joke in regards to civil and mechanical engineers, so I guess I can't complain when it's used against us! 😀 But, seriously, when I was looking into being a nuclear engineer in the Navy, it seemed like there was an 80+% overlap in the two topics. The two are more closely related than I would've expected.
Haha I'm EE anyways, there will be endless battles of the stem disciplines
😂
I am split on that one ( see what I did there )
Hey circuit beard, I heard you were in the Navy so I have a question. I am 17 and headed for Navy bootcamp in August. Currently I am enlisted into the AECF program to become either an ET or FC. I want to know whether or not I am making a huge mistake because I am afraid of signing away 6 years of my life into something I regret. Do you think it would be wise for me to stay in the AECF program and to study for a electrical engineering degree after my enlistment is over?
Hey, this is interesting as my wife and I were just discussing last night whether or not we regretted me going into the Navy. My wife is on the fence but I don't regret it. That being said, it obviously wasn't a good fit for me as I got out but, at the same time, I think it can be a great fit for other people. On the enlisted side, you pull some non-ideal jobs and, especially as junior enlisted, you crapped upon from great heights. That was one thing I really disliked - how junior enlisted (and, to a much lesser extent, junior officers) were assumed to be idiots just because they don't know the intricacies of military life. That being said, if you don't take it personally, a lot of people didn't seem to care too much. The GI Bill is an absolutely wonderful resource and there are many other educational resources you can take advantage of in your job besides just the things you'll learn as an ET. And, while enlisted pay isn't fantastic, all your basic requirements are covered, so it's completely reasonable. So, after 6 years, you'll come out with access to the GI Bill, great electronics experience and real-life job experience, ideally no debt and perhaps a little nest egg, and you'll be setup to go to college for basically free and have a huge head start on the topics over your classmates. It would be pretty awesome. But... whether or not the 6 years in the Navy will be so terrible as to make it not worth it, or perhaps, so awesome you don't want to leave, I just don't know. It's really dependent on your personality type.
@@CircuitBread Thank you very much
this is just a clip from the matrix
Im 17 when i was a child i used to destroy electronic device fixing it endup worsing it and i love to make things lul
I wonder how many engineers would have similar backstories. I took apart 8-tracks (they were old even when I was a kid), cassette players, CD players, cameras, etc. On occasion, they would even work afterward.
Virgin civil engineer VS Chad electrical engineer
😂
I am an electrical engineering student from the Philippines. I have a question and I hope that you can answer it.
Hopefully we can - what's the question?
@@CircuitBread I would like to work in a grid or in a power distribution company and I lost my interest in electronics. Is it okay as an electrical engineering student?
Oh yeah, that's totally fine! We're focused on electronics because that's what interests us and is what we know best. But I have friends I went to college with and the've only done power distribution. Chatting with them now, they don't remember anything about electronics. You'll probably have to go through some electronics courses in school (if you haven't already) and that's to be expected, I had to take semiconductor courses which didn't interest me at the time. It's all about making sure we're at least moderately well-rounded before we enter the workforce. But, as long as you get the fundamentals from those courses, you should be fine and then able to focus on what interests you most.
@@CircuitBread Thank you so much! This is wonderful!
Math didn't interest you ? I am pretty sure you are one of those guy who got an abysmal gpa
Ha! I was motivated, so that offset the lack of overt love of math, though I did get a B in two of my math classes. My grades were generally good but as I've mentioned before in other videos, I didn't see a great correlation between understanding and grades. I got an A in Differential Equations, and I feel like I didn't learn anything. I got a B in Engineering Statistics but despite feeling like I understood everything, I choked on a midterm and that dropped me. Such is life!
@@CircuitBread math is suppose to make understanding easy. If you aren't interested in math then you just know how things work but you don't know why it works. Don't worry many EE graduates are like that. That's why it will be very hard for you to do PhD. It's for someone who is truly passionate about EE.
Yeah, in my experience, you are totally right. I would struggle to get a PhD for exactly that reason. I've joked with people that I like being an engineer because it's a good balance between knowing enough of the why for me to make stuff but not so much that I may as well be a physicist.
@@CircuitBread I don't believe you cannot do PhD, I can see in your face expression, your body language and eyes the "passion" you have for engineering. Once you feel and taste more Math, you will want know more and more... this by experience. I am an Electrical Engineer with experience in industrial, buildings, energy and rail.
Any laptop recommendation for electrical engineer?
Nothing specific but while engineering applications are becoming more Mac friendly, you're still much safer going with a Windows machine. I'd discourage Linux not because there's anything wrong with Linux but because, unless you deal with it a lot, the learning curve is steep and you're even more limited in your applications. In terms of hardware, you don't need anything too intense, it doesn't need to be a gaming laptop or anything. I'd put that money towards build quality as, if you're a student, the laptop is going to go everywhere and be abused severely.
Is Asus zephyrus g14 good enough?
If it's purely for use as something to do engineering work on, it seems like overkill. Unless you're using Altium for PCB design or something like that. As long as the build quality is good, the specs look like they'll be more than sufficient for the vast majority of work you'd be doing with it.
MBA? Why?? The world does not need any more MBA graduates
Ha! I can't really argue with that sentiment. I found several of the classes surprisingly interesting but in retrospect, I feel like the business law class may have been the most helpful as we started this company. Of course, on our client side (SwellFox - the part of our business that actually makes money) we work with a lot of marketing departments, so the marketing class helped so I can speak the lingo. I wish my schedule had let me finish my MSEE instead, though. I almost started it again this fall but decided I like to see my kids occasionally 😬
@@CircuitBread Ok so it has beneficial for your own business, that's great, good for you man! I thought you did it as a means to improve your resume or to get a job, because I can tell you are way smarter than the average MBA grad (I know plenty of them and they are not so bright). And yes, family will always be more important than any diploma, so my hats off to you! Those kids will thank you for raising them properly one day :) Best of luck to you brother!
MBA = when U realized U WERE lied too ?
EE sux !!! 1. NO security 2. over worked 3. no promotion 4. CUBICAL 5. LOW pay unless top10% exploiters
Depends on a lot on who your employer is, definitely! I only worked in a cubicle when I was in the military, strangely. And while my pay isn't fantastic, it's enough to support my family of 6, and that's with me making less at this job than I did at my last. I do live in Idaho, though, where cost of living is more reasonable than many other places.
Nobody is going to argue overworked, though!
@@CircuitBread U have an office ? What Title ?
My last job I shared an office with a technician. As it was a small company, I called myself a Senior Engineer and my boss just shrugged and said it was good. Here at CircuitBread, we had an open office plan and I sat between another engineer and one of our video guys. Then we closed it down due to COVID and now we all work from home. Now, is that better or worse than a cubicle? I dunno...
@@CircuitBread open office plan - NO GOD NO !!!